Bicycle-tire-repairing tool.



H. C. WINGATE.

BICYCLE TIRE REPAIRING TOOL.

(Application filed Oct. 28, 1898.)

No. 634,193. Patented Oct. 3, I899.

(No Model.)

rm: "cums versus co. PHDTOLHY'NO WASHINGTON. m c.

' PATENT Trice.

HARVEY C. VVINGATE, OF WILMINGTON, DELAIVARE.

BlCYCLE-TlRE-REPAIRING TOOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,193, dated October 3, 1899. Application filed October 26, 1898. Serial No. 694,578. (No model.)

To all uihom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HARVEY O. WINGATE,

residing at Wilmington, in the county 'of New,

Castle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bicycle-Tire Repair Tools and Plugs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to tools and plugs for the repair of single-tube bicycle-tires; and it has for an object to provide devices for the speedy and efficient repair of punctures without the necessity of enlarging the aperture for the insertion of the repair-plug; and the invention consists in the peculiar construction of the tool and plug whereby plugs of standard size can be used for the repair of from ninety to ninetyfive per cent. of tire-punctures.

The invention also consists in other details of construction, which will be more fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which' Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the plug inserted. Fig. 2 is a sectional viewshow ing the inside of the tube. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the drawing through the tube. 'Fig. 4 is a detail View of the plug. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the puncture repaired.

My improved repair-tool is of steel wire of the proper thickness to insure rigidity and firmness in using the same, and it consists of a plunger A, having a handle or grasping portion B, formed by the coiling of one end of the plunger-wire. A small eye or loop 0, formed by coiling thewire, is formed intermediate the ends of the plunger, and the extremity D is slightly enlarged in diameter for a purpose that will be explained more fully hereinafter. A member F, formed of wire similar to-that used in the construction of the plunger, is provided, and one end is looped or coiled through the eyelet C of the plunger,-

and this member F, which I term the needle, is securely attached to the plunger and is adapted to lie fiat against the plungershank. The free end of this needle is slightly proved devices I am enabled to accomplish the efficient repair of a puncture without in any wise enlarging the origin al opening, which forms the exit for the air; and it is for these reasons that with my invention it is possible to do away with an assortmentof plugs of Varying sizes to meet the emergency of a puncture of the ordinary character, all of which can be speedily repaired with the tool and plug which I have described.

The manner of using myvimproved repair tool and plug is as follows: The puncture is first located with the needle and, if necessary, the foreign substance removed. The pointed end of the rubber plug is then threaded through the eye of the needle and about onehalf of the shank is drawn through the eye, this being possible because of the elasticity of the rubber plug. The plug is held at about the center of the shank and the operator draws the pointed end and head down fiat against the needle, stretching the shank until the original diameter is very much reduced. During this time the needle lies flat against the shank of the plunger, and while held in this position the plug and needle are forced through the puncture for a short distance, leaving the head of the plug still on the outside.

As is well known, the greatest difficulty in the repair of tires arises from the trouble occasioned by forcing the head of the plug through the puncture, theusual practice being to enlarge the puncture in some Way, so as to permit of the easy insertion of the plug. In this invention I overcome these difficulties in a manner that will now appear. By reference to the drawings it will be noticed that the head of the plug has upon its exterior surface and at the center a small depression, (indicated by 4:.) This depression is easily formed in molding the plugs, and it is adapted to receive the enlarged end D of the plunger at this stage of the operation. As the needle has introduced the plug for a short distance into the tire, the next step is to force the enlarged head of the plug through the puncture, and this is done by fitting the plunger extremity D into the small depression 4 on' the head of the plug, the tool and plug still being held in the position last described and more fully explained by reference to the drawings. The plunger and needle are then both forced through the puncture, the plunger carrying with it the head of the plug, the circumference of which is forced backward and compressed until it can be easily pushed through the puncture. The tool is then withdrawn from the tire, the eye of the needle still holding secu rely the shank of the plug.

It should be stated that before the plug is inserted in the puncture it is treated to a coating of rubber cement or suitable adhesive lubricant, which aids in making its passage through the rubber both easy and speedy, and, furthermore, when the head of the plug is drawn up against the interior of the tiresurface the cement will hold the same securely in place. The shank of the plug is then cut off on an equal plane with the exterior surface of the tire and the puncture is thoroughly healed.

My invention is so simple and the method of use so extremely easy and rapid that it is not necessary to discuss the great advantages it possesses over the ordinarydevices employed for repairing tire-punctures.

It is manifest that in some instances the needle and plunger can be used separately for inserting plugs.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a tool for the repair of bicycle-tires, a plunger and a needle attached one to the other and adapted for distinctively separate uses and also for cooperation, one with the other, as set forth.

2. In a tool for the repair of bicycle-tires, a plunger provided with a somewhat-enlarged head or extremity and a needle loosely secured to the plunger and having a piercingpoint and eye for the purposes specified.

3. In a tool for the repair of bicycle-tires, a plunger formed of steel Wire and having a looped handle or finger portion, an enlarged extremity and a spiral loop intermediate its ends; a needle member having a loop coiled about the plunger-loop, the piercing-point of said needle being somewhat flattened and provided with an eye, as and for the purposes set forth.

4:. In a tool for the repair of bicycle-tires, a plunger having a loop intermediate its ends and a somewhat-enlarged extremity; a needle loosely held to said plunger and adapted to lie flat against the plunger-shank, said needle being somewhat flattened near its piercing end and having an eye, and a plug having a shank tapering to a point at one end and a head on the other end, such head being provided with a depression upon its exterior surface and adapted for engagement with the plunger extremity, as and for the purposes specified.

HARVEY O. IVINGATE. Witnesses:

H. S. BISSELLE, II. J. ROBINSON. 

